SEVEN MINUTES || L. NORRIS

TWENTY FOUR

I forgot to love you, love you, love you

---

LANDO

Finally, I returned home after the race weekend in Monaco. I cancelled mine and Isabelle's extra few nights at the hotel, along with the later flight home, because I knew she wasn't going to be there with me. The race however, went better than myself or the team ever expected and I knew it was because Isabelle was watching at home, cheering me on through her TV screen. Even though Issy wasn't there to congratulate me with a million kisses when I got out of the car, I checked my phone after the race to see a message lighting up the screen and it was from her. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her name written on the screen. I thought I was dreaming.

ISABELLE: You drove a really great race today, Lando and you should be so proud of yourself. Congratulations.

LANDO: Thank you, a million times, thank you. I did it for you.

I was on cloud nine after that message. It gave me more hope than I had at the beginning of the weekend. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't over me like I started to think she was. She was watching to support me, she wanted me to do well and unless she was cuddled under blankets at home with a new boyfriend, I was happy. I was so fucking happy to know that she still watched my races.

Even twenty four hours after I received the message from Isabelle and even though I'd heard no more from her, I was still absolutely ecstatic. For the first time in months, I got a decent nights sleep, even though her beautiful face appeared in my dreams as I lay comfortably in the bed of the five star hotel we were staying in. On the flight back to London, I sat beside Carlos, sleeping through the entire journey to wake up to messages from him, which were images of me sleeping with a smile on my face. I felt like we were back together. And now, as I sat in the chair of the sim which stayed in the corner of my apartment, I could feel myself getting better with each lap I drove. Being in contact with Isabelle only reminded me more of how much I loved and missed her, and how much I forgot to love her when we were together. It was that which upset me, because I knew now that I'd blown any other chance I would ever get with Issy. She was too kind not to message me after the one race she looked forward to the most. I should have expected it, but I didn't, because I thought she despised me. I thought she was glad to see me leaving her apartment, no matter how much she screamed and cried against the door, throwing her fists violently against it as the pain consumed her body. She didn't know that I stayed close by and listened. I listened to her sobbing and it absolutely tore me apart knowing that I was so useless and couldn't do anything anymore. But for so long before that evening, I'd not done anything to her anyway.

Shanghai, China; Race 1000. I was too overwhelmed with the amount of media and press I was forced towards to pay any attention to anything other than the car. My phone was locked away in my driver's room, as I was being whisked around the media tent to carry out interviews for Sky Sports F1 and Channel 4. It was an important day in the history of Formula 1 and I had to be as engrossed as possible within the events to prove that I was interested. Of course, I was extremely interested and very proud of the success of my sport, but I couldn't help but think about Isabelle. I'd asked her to fly out to China with me for the weekend, but work commitments prevented her from agreeing, as much as I tried to change her mind. I knew it worried her to even think about asking for a couple of days off. Of course, I was upset and felt awfully defeated when she gave me her final answer. I wanted her to be with me in Shanghai for the 1000th race, but she promised she would cheer me on from home and that was enough for me.